Palmer really has no excuses this year if he struggles and the OL plays well. The idea this offseason was to give Palmer more weapons and they have clearly done that.

If Palmer still struggles in an otherwise good situation (weapons stay healthy, decent run game, OL protects him) how much more time do you guys think the organization will keep him around? At that point Palmer's pretty much holding the team back more than anything else, but I wonder if they show any loyalty.

If Palmer still struggles in an otherwise good situation (weapons stay healthy, decent run game, OL protects him) how much more time do you guys think the organization will keep him around? At that point Palmer's pretty much holding the team back more than anything else, but I wonder if they show any loyalty.

Palmer is not going anywhere. When Mike Brown starts thinking about cutting Palmer I'll mail him a DvD with Akili Smith / Jon Kitna / every other non franchise QB we've had as a starter.

Palmer isn't the best franchise QB in the league, maybe he's near the bottom of the list even. But he is a franchise QB and a guy who can take you places. I think it would be a mistake to risk everything by trying to get someone better in place of him.

As far as the Gresham pick goes, I really liked it. I talked to PalmerToCJ right before the draft and we both wanted Dezzy B, but I think Gresham was still a good pick.

I wanted Dez Bryant because I feel our future at WR looks bad. Simpson is borderline making the roster this year, Caldwell doesn't seem like he'll ever amount to anything more than a slot WR and Chad is old. That left Antonio Bryant and Matt Jones as our future.

I think Gresham is the better fit for our team, all around. However, I still think my concerns over the receiver position and the future are legitimate (or at least were). I don't think Shipley, Briscoe or Caldwell can ever be more than a #2. That means we have 2 options:

1) Resign Chad next year.

2) Don't resign Chad and let Antonio take the #1 spot.

No one else on the roster can play that position, and I highly doubt any rookie will be able to step in (in 2011). The problem is, we might start seeing signs of Chad slowing down and we have no idea how Antonio will perform in this atmosphere (he could be Coles 2.0 for us).

I wanted Dez to free up some of the question marks for 2011. Not because I thought he was a better overall fit for the team.

In the end though, I concede that it would have been a bad decision to draft Dez over Gresham. I think Gresham is an amazing fit for us, and I think we can use him to help us win games now and he may end up holding that spot down for the next 10+ years.

I hope I'm wrong about Palmer but with everything I've seen the last 2 years i dont think I am. The bad thing is if he struggles again the bengals will be drafting pretty high and may be in the running for one of the top 3 guys that should be in the draft next year....Mallet, Locker, and Luck. Out of those 3 I feel Mallet has the best tools and ability to make it as a star in the League. The other 2 may be very productive but they have some more work to do then Mallet. I really wish Cinci would have taken one of the second tier QB's in this past draft like Pike. Just as a backup plan. I'm very hopefull that the Gresham pick will help him out by opening up the middle of the field more. Palmer has shown he likes to dump off passes to the Tight Ends. The bad part has been the stone hands that have played there the last 2 years.

1. He just fits the typical Mike Brown pick
2. I'm also worried about the future at WR, I really don't think CJ re-signs and I'm not sold on Bryant.
3. They just don't value TE's that much (no matter how bad we need one)

I'm not against the Gresham pick, just wasn't my favorite. If Bryant were gone, I would've had zero issue with it.

I think this is a big year for Palmer... He should have adequate (not great) weapons. Not to mention coming off a playoff year with what should be another strong defense, it's time to produce.

If you're right and Palmer does struggle this year (which I don't think he will), why do you think Mike Brown would throw a bunch of money at a QB this year?

realistically, Mike Brown will ride Palmer's struggles for at least 2-3 more years.

I do think Mike Brown would throw a bunch of money at a QB. If you remember he did draft David Klingler and Akili Smith before he actually got one right with Palmer. In the past he has also paid good money for free agents like Scott Mitchell, and Gus Ferrott. Unless something happens with the CBA dont be shocked if Palmer struggles pretty bad to see him get let go like they did with Coles since it wont count against any salary cap.

The way I see it we all better enjoy watching our great corners playing together this year, because I feel its the last you will. The only way we get one more year of it is they keep the franchise tag around. I cant see Mike Brown throwing down the cash it will take to keep J Joe and Leon Hall both around for the long haul. Plus i have a feeling that one will want to be the featured shut down corner on a team and they have to share the spotlight in Cinci. I really hope the Bengals kind find a way to keep both of them though.